MovieChat Forums > A Gifted Man (2011) Discussion > IMO what killed this show

IMO what killed this show

posted 12 years ago by ruby_proudfoot
5 replies | jump to latest

Was Anna... not the actress herself, but the character. If this show didn't have the ghost element in it I think it would have been more successful. I'm a big fan of Patrick Wilson and when I heard he was going to do TV I thought, let's go for it. And I really liked A Gifted Man, save for the ghost. In the first episode, and probably the second, it wasn't that bad but as the show progressed the inconsistent use of the of it was too evident; they simply didn't know what to do with it, but given the fact that it tied back to the show's title I guess they simply couldn't get rid of it and in the end they were left with a poorly written script.
Granted, without the fantastic element this would have been yet another medical drama, but with it it just wasn't as good as it could have been.

I remember trying to get my friends to watch it and as I was telling them about the plot, everything started to sound awkward as I got to the "he sees the ghost of his dead wife"... for some reason it just didn't seem to fit the rest, making it all sound cheesy.

All in all, I don't like that this show was cancelled, Patrick is a terrific actor and would have loved to see more of him on tv.

"Why don't you make like a tree... and get outta here?"

[–] Narya_Fire 11 years ago

Totally agree! Gutted it has been cancelled :-(

[–] cawaps-513-958295 11 years ago

I was ready for Anna to move on by the end of the season...it seemed like they were hinting that she had (or trying to mislead us into thinking that she had) at the end of the last episode. But there were hints throughout the series that there was more going on with him than just seeing Anna's ghost. The ownerless basketball stopping him at the basketball court to see the broken backboard--an event he accused Anna of staging, but she denied it. He just seemed to be the epicenter for a lot of bizarre coincidences. I guess that could just be bad writing, but I had the sense that they were actually going someplace with it.

Honestly, I think the tile of the show didn't help. "A Gifted Man"? They couldn't come up with anything better than that?

[–] imabe 11 years ago

I agree, the ghost did not work. It could have faded away. I loved Patrick Wilson and would love to see him back.

[–] raymondunc 9 years ago

I don't agree. I think the idea of the ghost idea had its place. No matter where he was or what he was doing she could show up and help guide him in directions they wanted him to go. Him automatically following her advise would not have been so believable if it was a live wife telling him how to think and act differently. I don't think the title of the series did it any favors and several other things, but I think the ghost idea fit with the show fine.

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[–] jameswgarrity 9 years ago

CBS killed it.

There is so much crap that doesn't get cancelled that I've got rid of cable and just watch netflix. Why pay to watch junk when all the good shows get cut off (aka Firefly, SGU, Farscape, etc.)

TV sucks.